You would have thought that after years of suffering through our dreaded cold winters that it would get easier, but somehow it just gets harder and we find ourselves wanting to move to the Northern Territory each year just to get out of the cold! Whilst I can’t guarantee that we won’t have to get the ice scraper out again before Christmas because it’s Canberra and you never know… I can assure that you’re going to experience most of these things in the next month if you haven’t already.

‘OMG look how sunny it is!’… Jokes, that’s fake spring!
Canberra is notorious for giving us a few beautiful days at the start of spring only to do a complete 180 the next week and go back to the drizzly days of winter. Whilst it’s normal to get excited about the sun, don’t let the weather-man fool you!! We aren’t done with the cold just yet!

You wonder how much of an idiot you will look like with an ice cream bucket on your head.
The magpies are back and they’re back with a vengeance! Anyone who’s ridden around Lake Ginninderra during the months of spring before has probably been subject to numerous magpie attacks. Just do yourself a favour and invest in one of those dorky looking bike helmets with sticks coming out of it, it’s better than ending up in the hospital with half your head eaten out of.

You get your electricity bill from winter and freak out. Ahhhh the stinger!
Don’t be too hard on yourself, it was necessary to have the heater on 28 degrees every day just to survive.

You freak out that it’s just a couple of months till Christmas!
Where has the year gone? Seriously, Christmas can not already be here again?! Get that calendar out, because all the Christmas parties are coming up and things are going to get merry.

You wonder how many anti-histamines you can take at once without having an adverse reaction.

Shout-out to my fellow Canberrans who also suffer from hay fever and allergies. Spring is not our friend.

You shave your legs for the first time in 3 months.
We all have that freak-out moment where we go to wear shorts only to realise that our legs resemble the Sutton Forest. Time to get that razor out girl!

You invest in a serious fake tan to pretend that you haven’t stayed inside binge-watching Netflix all of winter.
Save yourself hours in the sun and just fake it. We’re all faking it!

You embark on some ridiculous health challenge to try and get your beach body ready for coast trips at the end of the year.
See you later party pies, hot chocolate and all the other food that kept us sane during winter. This bod might actually see daylight again now.

You put your winter coats away for next season only to realise you still probably need them for the next six weeks.
Yes, it’s slowly getting warmer, but we are still 10 degrees colder than anywhere else in Australia so maybe don’t say bye bye just yet.

You reassess your life as you freak out that it’s basically the end of the year.
It seems like just yesterday I was writing my new year resolutions for 2018. I told myself I wasn’t going to eat as much ice cream or drink as much wine. OOPS, maybe next year.

Beth xx

@bethanygracelarsen